Using creative problem-solving skills, a team of introductory accounting students evaluated a grocery store’s business operations in a case analysis and developed innovative recommendations to help a grocery store implement practices and policies that would deter fraud and theft and minimize the risk of misstated financial statements. Using principles of internal control outlined by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework and the fraud triangle framework, the team of students presented recommendations that critiqued the grocery store’s internal control environment and provided a plan to address the grocery store’s internal control weaknesses and mitigate the store’s ongoing problems. The team won first place at the UWEC case competition for introductory accounting students after presented their recommendations and power point before a judging panel comprised of accounting professionals.
